In Mexico, only civil marriages
are recognized by the law and all its proceedings fall under local
state legislation.[1]Same-sex civil unions
are legally performed and recognized in Mexico City (Law for Coexistence
Partnerships, LCS) and in the northern state of Coahuila (Civil Pact of Solidarity, PSC),
whose legal residents constitute 10.31% of the national population
approximately.[nb 1]
Unlike Mexico City's law, once same-sex couples have registered in
Coahuila, the state protects their rights no matter where they live
in the country.

In the early 2000s, Enoé Uranga, an openly lesbianpolitician and activist, unsuccessfully
pushed a bill that would have legalized
same-sex civil unions in Mexico City under the name Ley de
Sociedades de Convivencia (LSC, Law for Coexistence
Partnerships).[3
] Despite being passed four times by legislative
commissions, the bill repeatedly got stuck in plenary voting for
its sensitive nature, which could be attributed to the widespread
opposition from right-wing groups and then-Head of
Government Andrés Manuel López
Obrador's ambiguity concerning the bill.[4]
Nonetheless, as new left-wing mayor Marcelo Ebrard was expected to take
power in December 2006, the ALDF decided to take up the bill and
approved it in a 43-17 vote on 9 November.[4]

The law was well-received by feminist and LGBT groups,
including Emilio Álvarez Icaza, then-chairman of the Federal
District's Human Rights Commission, who declared that "the law was
not a threat to anyone in particular, and that it will be a matter
of time before it shows positive consequences for different social
groups." It was strongly opposed by right-wing groups such
as the National Parents' Union and the Roman Catholic Church, which labeled the assemblymen who voted for the law
as "sinners", and complained it was
"vengeance against the Catholic Church from the more radical
groups from the left, who felt it was a demand for justice."[4] The
law officially took effect on 16 March 2007.[5]
Mexico City's first same-sex civil union was between Jorge Cerpa, a
31-year-old economist,
and Antonio Medina, a 38-year-old journalist.[5]
As of December 2009, 736 same-sex civil unions have taken place in
the city since the law became effective, of which 24 have been
annulled (3%).[6]

"The PCS represents a sensible response to the existence of citizens
who traditionally have been victims of discrimination, humiliation and abuse. This does not have to do
with morality. It has to
do with legality. As human
beings, we have to protect them as they are. It has to do with
civil liberty," said congresswoman Julieta López, who pushed the
bill, of the centrist Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), whose 19 members voted for the
law.[9]
Luis Alberto Mendoza, deputy of the center-right National Action Party (PAN),
which opposed, said the new law was an "attack against the family, which is society's natural group and is
formed by a man and a woman."[9]
Other than that, the PCS drew little opposition. Bishop Raúl Vera, who heads the Catholic Diocese
of Saltillo, declined to
condemn the law. While Vera insisted that "two women or two men
cannot get married," he also sees gay people as a vulnerable minority. "Today
we live in a society that is
composed in a different way. There are people who do not want to
marry under the law or in the church. They need legal protection. I
should not abandon these people."[8]
Unlike Mexico City's law, once same-sex couples
have registered in Coahuila, the state protects their rights no
matter where they live in the country.[8]
Twenty days after the law had passed, the country's first same-sex
civil union took place in Saltillo,
Coahuila. It was between 29-years-olds Karina Almaguer and
Karla Lopez, a lesbian couple from Tamaulipas.[10]

Other
states

Similar bills have been proposed by the PRD in at least six
states.[11]
On 7 December 2006, a similar bill to that of Mexico City was
proposed in Puebla. But it
faced strong opposition and criticism from deputies of the Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN), who
declared that "the traditional
family is the only social model, and there cannot be another
one."[12
] In July 2009, the Party of the Democratic
Revolution (PRD) introduced a formal initiative to legalize
civil unions in the western state of Colima.[13]
Nevertheless, the following month, the local legislature decided
not to take up the initiative, following widespread opposition from
right-wing groups.[14] On 13
November 2006, in neighboring state of Michoacán, it was announced that a similar
bill would be formally proposed. However, as of August 2009, it has
been stalled, meaning it has not been discussed by the local
congress.[15]
Additionally, gay rights legislation that could likely
include civil unions is being debated in the states
of Jalisco and Guerrero.[11]
In December 2009, Governor of Colima Mario Anguiano
Moreno agreed to discuss the legalization of civil unions and
adoption by same-sex couples in the current legislature.[16]

Same-sex
marriage

State recognition of same-sex relationships in North
America. Same-sex
marriage1 Only foreign same-sex
marriages recognized Other type of
partnership1 Unregistered
cohabitation Unrecognized or unknown No recognition, issue under
consideration No recognition, only same-sex
marriage banned No recognition, marriage and
civil unions banned1May include recent
laws or court decisions which have created legal recognition of
same-sex relationships, but which have not entered into effect
yet.

Yucatán

On the other hand, in the southeastern state of Yucatán, the local
Congress overwhelmingly approved a ban on same-sex
marriage in a 24–1 vote on 21 July 2009. The law raised heterosexual marriage and families to the constitutional
level via the approval of amendments to the state's Civil
Code. The bill was promoted by right-wing organization
Pro Yucatán Network to reject all efforts by people of the same sex
to form a family and adopt children. PAN politicians justified the
ban alleging that "there still aren't adequate conditions within
Yucatán society to allow for unions between people of the same
sex."[26] The
event led to protests
outside the local Congress by LGBT organizations, whose leaders are
expected to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of
Justice of the Nation.[27]

Other
states

After Mexico City's Legislative Assembly legalized same-sex
marriages and LGBT
adoption in December 2009, debate resurged in states where
civil unions had been previously proposed. In the western state of
Michoacán, the PRD
has announced it will propose both bills, along with same-sex civil unions
(Law for Coexistence Partnerships) in 2010.[28] In
the southern state of Tabasco, 20 same-sex couples sent a motion to
the state legislature asking to allow
them to marry.[29] In
the northwestern state of Sonora, an initiative to allow same-sex couples
to marry has been delivered to the state's Congress by former Labor
Party candidate for governor, Miguel Angel Haro Moren, who
expects the bill to be well-received by the lawmakers "because the
Sonoran society is not conservative, but rather, the political
class", Haro said.[30]

Public
opinion

In a Parametría poll, conducted from 17 November to 20 November
2006, 1,200 Mexican adults were asked if they would support a
constitutional amendment that would legalize same-sex
marriage in Mexico. 17% responded yes, 61% said no and 14% had
no opinion. The same poll showed 28% in support of same-sex civil
unions, 41% were opposed and 28% had no opinion.[31] From
27 November to 30 November 2009, major Mexican newspaper El Universal polled 1,000
Mexico City citizens concerning the legalization of same-sex
marriage in the city. 50% supported it, 38% were against it and 12%
had no idea. The same poll showed that support was stronger among
the youngest population (age: 18–29), 67%, and weaker among the
oldest (age: 50-onwards), 38%. With 48% the most cited reason was
"right of choice" for the supporters, followed by "everybody is
equal" with 14%. 39% of the opposers cited "it is not normal" as
the main reason to not support same-sex marriage, followed by "we
lose values" with 18%.[32]

Guillermo Bustamente Manilla, PAN member, president of the
National Parents Union (UNPF) and father of Guillermo Bustamante
Artasánchez, law director of the Secretary of the
Interior, opposes abortion and same-sex civil unions,[33] and
has called the latter as "anti-natural."[34] He
has publicly asked voters not to cast votes for "abortionists"
parties and those who are in favor of homosexual relationships.[35]

Notes

^
The sum of legal residents of the Mexican Federal District (8,836,045) and Coahuila (2,495,200) divided
by the total population of Mexico (109,955,400) according to the National
Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).